Spectroscopy technique shines new light on blood glucose levels for diabetics

Researchers from the University of Missouri School of Medicine and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) recently evaluated the accuracy of the MIT-developed technology.

The study, Evaluation of accuracy dependence of Raman spectroscopic models on the ratio of calibration and validation points for non-invasive glucose sensing, measured the blood glucose levels of 20 healthy, non-diabetic adults prior to drinking a glucose-rich drink.

Blood glucose levels were then measured in intervals over the next 160 minutes using spectroscopy, IV blood test, and finger prick. According to MIT, the tests determine how much glucose remains in the blood and if a patient's insulin-regulating mechanisms are working effectively. The researchers found that spectroscopy predicted glucose values as accurately as a finger prick test.

"Currently, blood glucose levels are tested through a finger prick or intravenously. The approach we studied is non-invasive and uses a laser to monitor glucose levels in the skin," said Anandhi Upendran, PhD, director of biomedical innovations at the MU School of Medicine Institute for Clinical and Translational Science and co-author of the study. "With diabetes on the rise, the development of an accurate, efficient and inexpensive alternative method to test blood glucose levels is an urgent clinical need."